1938 in British television

This is a list of events related to British television in 1938.

List of years in British television (table)
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Events

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January

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  • No events.

February

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March

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  • 12 March – First news bulletin carried by the BBC Television Service, in sound only. Previously, the service had aired British Movietone News cinema newsreels.

April

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  • 31 May – The first quiz show, Spelling Bee, is televised on the BBC Television Service.[1]

June

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October

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November

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  • Due to freak atmospheric conditions, a BBC TV broadcast from London is received in New York City.[3]

December

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  • By the end of the year 9,315 television sets have been sold in England.

Debuts

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  • 11 February – R.U.R (1938)
  • 19 February – Clive of India (1938)
  • 1 April – The Boat Race (1938–1939, 1946–2019)
  • 8 May – Checkmate (1938)
  • 11 May – The Emperor Jones (1938)
  • 31 May – The Constant Nymph (1938)
  • 10 August – Telecrime (1938–1939, 1946)
  • 31 May – Spelling Bee (1938)
  • July – Ann and Harold (1938)
  • 2 July – On the Spot (1938)
  • 5 July – White Secrets (1939)
  • 12 July – The Case of the Frightened Lady (1938)
  • 30 October – Cyrano de Bergerac (1938)
  • 31 October – Smoky Cell (1938)
  • 1 November – The Last Voyage of Captain Grant (1938)
  • 7 November – The Breadwinner (1938)
  • 10 November – Villa For Sale (1938)
  • 11 November – The White Chateau (1938)
  • 23 November – Love from a Stranger (1938)

Continuing television shows

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1920s

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  • BBC Wimbledon (1927–1939, 1946–2019, 2021–2024)

1930s

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Ending this year

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Births

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Spelling Bee". ukgameshows.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ Previous demonstrations of colour television in the UK and US had been via closed circuit.
  3. ^ A film camera is used to record the silent images which included the performance of a play, a cartoon, and other matter. A four-minute excerpt from this filmed recording will survive and be considered one of the only surviving examples of a pre-war BBC television transmission. Alexandra Palace Television Society. "BBC Television received in New York – November 1938". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Sir Terry Wogan obituary". The Guardian. London. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2021.